School Mascot

The student body at Muhlenberg Elementary School form an owl, the school mascot, during Spirit Week at the school. The celebration was held recently to mark the location of a future playground site. A fund-raising campaign was kicked off to raise money for new playground equipment.

In regard to the name "Konkrete Kids" being connected to the Ku Klux Klan: This is simply a coincidence with a bogus racial twist. The gentleman who started the petition against the mascot is not aware of his school district's history and the benevolent role the cement industry had on Northampton and its high school. It was the Atlas Cement Co. that donated all the land where the current Northampton High School and Northampton Middle School are located. This includes many of the athletic practice fields and the cement bags the teams used to carry their equipment, which some say gave rise to the name "Konkrete Kids.

Tracy Elementary School in Palmer Township celebrated its 20th anniversary with a series of events yesterday, including a balloon launch on the soccer field behind the school. Other events included a school assembly, speakers, skits, songs, games, a birthday cake and a visit from the school mascot, Tracy the Tiger. The school was named for Dr. Edward Tracy, superintendent of the Easton areaschools from 1953-1964.

Allen High School's aging canary mascot has been replaced with a fresh, less smelly, new costume. And the school has a Dieruff Husky to thank for it. The new canary made its debut at Thursday night's Allentown School Board meeting, giving school directors their first look at the 2013 version of the school's longtime mascot. The bird is essentially the same, with the notable exception of the feet. The old, furry feet have been replaced by vinyl feet with more pronounced toes. While the facial features on the new head appear to be sharper, that's only because it's less worn.

Top, third-grade elf Elaine Corcoran has a laugh in class at St. John the Baptist School in Ottsville for Wacky Hat Day celebrating Catholic Schools week. Above, second-grader A.J. Giovino, right, talks to the school mascot. The name A.J. chose, "Bubba," is among several names students are considering for the creature. At left, first-graders Erin Litzenberger (left) and Meagan McFadden participate in class wearing their unusual chapeaus.

The Class of 2015 is currently selling Catasauqua Area School District magnets to benefit their Prom Fund. The magnets are brown and white with "Catasauqua Rough Riders" and an image of the school mascot printed on them, according to the high school's website. They are $6.50 each and $6 for two or more and checks can be made payable to the Class of 2015 and money is due by April 4, the website said. Orders may be placed with any sophomore student or by contacting Mrs. DeBoer at deboere@cattysd.org .

The Allen High School Chorale, with an armful of trophies and hearts full of warm memories, came home last night after six days of competitions, concerts, and sightseeing in Orlando, Fla. A highlight of the trip was participation in the Orlando All-American Festival, where the chorale won first place in the Show Choir Popular Category and Concert Choir Classical Music categories. The chorale also received a trophy for Best Choral Organization and earned two superior ratings - the highest ratings given.

Pupils at Jackson Elementary School set aside a special day last week to honor our nation's seventh president, Andrew Jackson, for whom the school was named. Among the events were a balloon launch in which the whole school took part and an assembly program during which each class gave a presentation. Fifth-grader Andrew Phillips portrayed Andrew Jackson; first-graders gave a skit based on the 24 stars in the flag at the time Jackson was president. Second-graders presented a history of the school.

The Class of 2015 is currently selling Catasauqua Area School District magnets to benefit their Prom Fund. The magnets are brown and white with "Catasauqua Rough Riders" and an image of the school mascot printed on them, according to the high school's website. They are $6.50 each and $6 for two or more and checks can be made payable to the Class of 2015 and money is due by April 4, the website said. Orders may be placed with any sophomore student or by contacting Mrs. DeBoer at deboere@cattysd.org .

Emanuil Gavrilesku painted a mural of a timber wolf which is displayed near the main office at Springhouse Middle School, South Whitehall Township. Gavrilesku, a student of Christian Eggleston, painted the timber wolf, which is the school's mascot. In August, the school received a $2,000 arts grant from Target to create the mural and funds were used for installation of the large laminate mural.

The girl paused over her toast and said "I could NOT hardly wait to get up." She had been up for a half-hour, and her parents were quietly savoring the moment, because in a day or two they would be back to disentangling her from a cocoon of bedsheets each morning and giving her the bum's rush to the bathroom, the breakfast table and the two blocks to school. But now the girl was bright as a bulb, speculating what the first day of second grade would bring. "I'm guessing I might have desks instead of tables this time," she said.

Philip Wagner, vice president of the National Honor Society at Central Catholic High School, has been named a recipient of the "Best of the Best" award. A senior, Wagner participates in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, the Pennsylvania Math League and the Catholic Math League. He is also a member of the CCHS Scholastic Scrimmage team. He has five varsity letters in cross country and track. An Eagle Scout with a gold palm, Wagner is a member of Boy Scout Troop 72, Fogelsville.

There is the precious moment when the kindergartners get off the bus on the first day of school and see a grown-up dressed as a puma, the school mascot, waving at them from the sidewalk. And what about those fun carnival games at the "patio party" behind the school every June? Don't forget the Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah and Valentine's Day parties the PTO mothers organize, and the fifth-grade field trip. Parents of Asa Packer Elementary students want to remind Bethlehem Area School District administrators of all the things their children could miss, if what they have heard is true.

Mowad obituary B6 Two Bangor Area High School students and one recent graduate were killed early Sunday in a one-vehicle accident that also left a fourth passenger seriously injured. What appears to have started out as a house party in Plainfield Township turned to tragedy when the 1997 Isuzu Rodeo the teens were riding in skidded off Mount Pleasant Road in Washington Township and flipped through the air several times, scattering the victims as far as 50 feet from the vehicle. Two miles away, the same Rodeo was involved in a sideswipe hit-and-run, minutes before the high-speed crash, police said.

Beginning Tuesday, breakfast will be served from 8 to 8:25 a.m. daily to students at Allentown's Washington School, Ninth and Washington streets, as a new school breakfast program is initiated. While all students will be eligible to purchase the meal at 65 cents, students already approved for the free lunch program will be offered breakfast at no cost and those eligible for the reduced-price lunch can purchase it for 30 cents. According to Danny Seymour, director of Food Services for the Allentown School District, the program is being piloted at Washington School with the hopes of expanding it to other schools in the fall.

Union Terrace Elementary School gives a monthly award to a student in each classroom who has demonstrated outstanding effort in the area of academic achievement. The Top Tiger Award, named for the school mascot, Terrific Tiger, is given to the child who exhibits the following behavior: shows increased interest in, and positive attitude toward, school; shows increased efforts in completing class assignments; shows increased efforts in completing homework satisfactorily and tries to utilize activities to the fullest.

by KATHY RUFF, (A free-lance story for The Morning Call) | May 8, 2000

Time will stand still for Pokemon, Brittany Spears, the Back Street Boys and many other icons and memorabilia buried in a time capsule Friday at Eldred Elementary School, Kunkletown. "This time capsule is like a seed," said Patrick Smith, reading specialist, addressing 270 pupils in kindergarten through third grade. "We're going to plant this in the ground and watch it grow, like you boys and girls. When you dig this up, you're going to be amazed about what you find in this time capsule and how things have changed."

When construction of the new Parkland High School was finished, the school district decided to rename the old building, which became a middle school. So they let the people decide. The people spoke. And the school board voted. Their unanimous choice: Orefield Middle School. The other 33 names will be relegated to the scrapheap of history and one can only ponder the what-ifs of such suggestions as Jaindl School (presumably for Fred Jaindl, the largest landowner in the county) and Trojan Middle School, (a reference to the high school mascot)